Kendall Cox

EDC 460

Comprehension
Grade Level/Subject Area:
Fourth Grade
English Language Arts
Goals/Rationale:
Use prior knowledge to connect with text
Standards:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.4.4
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.4.4.A
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.4.4.B
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.4.4.C
Materials/Preparation:
Print "R= it Reminds me of" worksheet for each student
Obtain "Don't You Feel Well, Sam?"
Prepare information to present on the board
Objectives:
After reading the story and participating in the discussion, students
will demonstrate their understanding of using prior knowledge
through completion of the worksheet.
Instructional Procedure:
Read the story "Don't You Feel Well, Sam?" aloud to the class
o Pause occasionally to ask students to relate to the text and
ensure their engagement
Has anyone ever had a cough before they go to
bed?
Has anyone ever had syrup for his or her cough
that didn't taste good?
How many of you have felt brave before? When?
What happened to make you feel brave?
On the white board/chalkboard:
o Write character, setting, book, and problem
Ask students:
What is a character? How you determine
the characters in a book?
What is the setting? How can you find the
setting in a book?
What is the problem? How can you find the
problem in a book?
Ask students:
Who were the characters in the story we
just read?
Write answers on the board under
character
Where does the story take place?
Write answers on the board under setting
What is the problem in the story?
Write answers on the board under problem

Do any of these things remind you of

something you have done or a book you
have read?
Prompt students to make connections based on
their prior knowledge and experiences
i.e. A time a student had a cough, a time a
student could not sleep, a time they were
excited for snow, etc.

Closure to lesson:
o While reading your independent reading books, I want
you to really think about those books you have read
and experiences you've had to connect with
o It is important to make connections for your memory
and to better understand books that we are reading
o We will be working more on this strategy as we
continue to read our whole class books
Accommodations:
To accommodate the lower-level students in my classroom, I would
reread the book with the student. During reading, there would be
many pauses to discuss terms such as character, setting, and
problem. Rather than waiting until the end and remembering the
story, the student could create a working definition and model of
the terms in the story. This would be an easier way to work on
comprehension and to build those connections in their heads
throughout the story.
Assessment:
Informal:
o Students' understanding will be assessed by the completion
of the worksheet the students are given. Their reasoning is
more important to ensure that students are fully making
connections and are able to provide evidence for their
connections.
Formal:
o Students will be given a comprehension assessment that will
include a section on connecting prior knowledge and what it
means to literature.

Additional Activity- Reveal Charades

After reading two stories, with similar topics, students will be playing a
game much like charades. The students will need to use both their prior
knowledge of the topic from experiences as well as the information learned
through reading the books.
1. Gather students in an area of the room with plenty of space for each
student to move around.
2. Bring over the tub full of the different charades (the tub will include
certain characters and also concepts that the children should recall
from the stories)

3. Choosing a student from the Popsicle sticks at the front of the room,
have them grab one card out of the tub.
4. Instruct the student to use their prior knowledge and the knowledge
obtained from the stories to act out the card to the rest of the class.
5. The student that guesses the correct response is the next to act out.
Additional Activity- Character Connection
For students who do not fully understand how to connect characters in
a present story with those in their prior knowledge they can use themselves
of an example.
1. Give each student a large piece of white paper and some crayons or
markers
2. Have the students draw themselves on one side
a. Make sure that they include anything and everything that
they find important
i. They can write interests, favorite color, anything that
the student thinks makes them who they are
3. One the other side of the paper, have students draw their hero
a. This could be a super hero, mom, dad, aunt, uncle, the
mailman, someone that they consider a hero
4. Once the drawing is finished have students share the similarities
that they found between themselves and the hero
This activity will help relate making connections using prior knowledge
back to themselves as students. It will help them begin thinking about what
it means to connect two characters and also how to pull information from
memory.
Additional Activity- Mystery Box
Students will be given the opportunity to make their own mystery
boxes after reading a story. The story will be one that includes many details
about objects that we can put in mystery boxes such as pasta,
marshmallows, fruit, rice, etc.
1. Each student will receive a small box to use as his or her mystery box,
they can decorate it however they would like.
2. The students must decide what they would like to go into their mystery
box.
3. They will take turns presenting their mystery boxes and allowing the
rest of the class to guess the contents.
4. This allows for the students to use what they already know about the
possible contents to make guesses as to what is in each mystery box.
Additional Activity- Prior Knowledge Roller
This activity serves as a visual reinforcement for teaching prior
knowledge. It provides a visual and concrete example of how prior
knowledge is obtained and what happens in the brain to retain that
information.
1. Give each pair of students a lint roller and a handful of small pieces of
paper
2. Instruct students to write what they have learned in the past or an
experience that they have had on each piece of paper given to them

3. Show the students with your lint roller how they are going to make
their memories "stick" by rolling over your pieces of paper
4. Talk with students about what they observe on their lint roller (they
should mention more than just the papers, fuzz, dirt, etc.)
5. This shows students how the brain obtains knowledge to use when
reading a story and how those connections can be made

Fluency
Grade Level/Subject Area
3rd Grade
English Language Arts
Goals/Rationale
Read appropriate-level texts that are a good fit
Voracious reading
Use punctuation to enhance phrasing and prosody
Standards
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.3.5
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.3.3
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.3.4
Materials/Preparation
Make fluency anchor chart as shown below

 Obtain an iPad or netbook for each student in the class

Orient yourself with audactiy.com
Objectives
I can read fluently based on my understanding of our "As a Fluent
Reader" anchor chart
I can successfully record myself and make observations about my
fluency level
Instructional Procedure
Introduction
o What is fluency?
o What does it mean to be a fluent reader?
Make anchor chart with the class outlining what it means to be a fluent
reader
Highlight the following
o Accuracy
o Expression
o Smooth
o Pace
o Comprehend
Once you have explained the components of a fluent reader, have the
students give examples of each and what they would do to show you
each component
Each student should select a book that they feel comfortable with
o At their reading level and short
o Have students read through their book a couple of times so that
they are comfortable with the words
Each student should now obtain an iPad or a netbook
With their technology:
o Go to audacity.com
o Follow the instructions to make a recording of your voice as you
read the story aloud

After the students have finished recording their story, gather them
back together to debrief
Closure
o Have the students listen to the recordings of themselves reading
the story and to make observations about themselves as fluent
readers
What did you do well?
What do you need to work on?
How will you work to improve the sections you
need to work on?
Accommodations
For students who may not be able to complete the lesson the way it
was taught, provide the students with headphones to hear the
computer better and also a headset with a microphone. The teacher
can assist the student with getting to the website and navigating if
needed.
Assessment
The assessment for this portion of fluency will be two fold. The teacher
will test students using a running record to get a progress monitoring
aspect. The teacher will hold conferences with the students about
their recording. After the students have made their recordings and
made observations about their fluency level, the teachers will meet
with the students. During this conference, the teacher can make any
observations that the student missed and will be able to hear why the
student made the observations that he/she did.
Additional Activity- Fluency Board
1. Give each student a fluency board kit
a. Each fluency board kit should have a picture frame, a blank grid,
and a dry erase marker
2. Select 7 words that the student needs to work on
a. These can be spelling words, words from an IR book, or just 7
random words
3. Instruct the student to read through the words once with you
4. Have the student read through the words once in their head, noting
any that they many not understand or pronounce correctly by putting a
dot next to the word
5. When the student understands and can properly pronounce the entire
list, set up a timer
6. Set the timer for 1 minute and have the student read through the
words as fast as they can
7. Repeat this until the student can get through the whole sheet
8. If the student is not making it close to the end after 3 tries, increase
the time to 1 minute and 30 seconds
9. Be sure to mark on the glass where the student gets to each time

Additional Activity- I Caught You

1. Select a story to read with the student
2. Explain to the student that this is the I Caught You game
3. You will take turns reading with the student
4. Instruct the student that they must pay close attention and follow
along to tell you when you have messed up, and say I Caught You
5. As you read your portion, choose 1 or 2 words that you will purposely
screw up so that the student can catch you
6. For students at a bit of a higher level, have them call out I Caught You
for incorrect punctuation and intonation as well.
7. Have the student read with you being the one to "catch" them after
you have modeled
Additional Activity- Roll and Read
1. Grab a pair of dice and a sheet of sentences with Roll and Read on the
top
2. This can be done either with the teacher or in partners
3. Have the student roll the die and call out the number that it lands on
a. This number corresponds to a sentence on the paper
4. Have the student roll the second die
a. This number corresponds to an emotion on another sheet of
paper
5. The student must read the sentence they rolled in the emotion that
they rolled
6. Have students switch with their partners or complete the other five
sides of the die
Additional Activity- Fluency Play
1. With their partners, have students select the play that they would like
to perform for the class
a. Ensure that it is one they have not completed before

2. Instruct students to practice their play with the CORRECT intonation

and attention paid to punctuation and dialogue
a. Make yourself available for questions and tell them that you are
there to help with any parts that they may not be familiar with
3. When the students have had time to practice their plays, have them
perform them to the class
a. During the performance, they may have their scripts, but must
show work in intonation and attention paid to punctuation

Phonemic Awareness: Rhyming

Grade Level/Subject Area
3rd Grade
English Language Arts
Goals/Rationale
Understand what a rhyme is and what makes words rhyme
Use rhyming to help better understand the context of the sentence
Standards
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.3.3
Materials/Preparation
Gather books for students
Print out instructions for each student

Objectives
I can select vocabulary words out of my book
I can identify which words are rhyming pairs
I can pull a sentence out of a book and represent it on paper in an
illustration
Instructional Procedure
Introduction
o What is a rhyme?
o What makes two words rhyme?
o Give me an example of two rhyming words.
Introduce the lesson by showing the student an example of a book with
rhymes in it
Read the book to the students and ask them to remember the most
interesting rhyme in the book
Show students their options for books that they can choose
o The books that they can choose from all have definite rhyming
patterns and are easy to pick out
Instruct students to read through their book and pick out 10 words that
they found interesting
Students need to get out their journals and record those 10 words IN
ALPHABETICAL ORDER
Their next task is to find 5 pairs of words that rhyme and to record
those in their journals as well
Talk to students during this pairing process to ensure that they have
correct pronunciation and word pairing
When the students have completed the pairing they will move onto the
visualization aspect of the assignment
Students need a large piece of paper for this step
Students will select a message (theme) that they think was important
in the story that they read and draw a picture with an explanation of
why they thought this was the most important.
Closure

Have students share the themes of their stories and discuss how
they are connected
o Also go through the rhymes to see how they differed from
student to student
Accommodations
To accommodate all students, make many different books available for
students to complete the lesson. This will allow the higher children to
be challenged but to complete the assignment. The lower students in
the class will be challenged at their own level and feel successful.
Students who need accommodations can also identify a higher number
or lower number of both words and pairs of rhymes.
Assessment
The assessment for rhyming is more informal. The teacher will look at
the journal of the students. He/she is looking for a different
understanding in each question. The first assignment of choosing 10
words and putting them in alphabetical order will show teachers
whether or not the child understands alphabetical order and how to
order words with the same first letter. The next part will show teachers
whether students understand rhyming and how to pair numbers. This
part will also show whether the students have their pronunciation
correct and have the sounds of words correct. The last section will
show teachers the student's understanding of visualization and how
their comprehension transfers to the paper in an illustration.
o

Additional Activity- Spelling Pattern Race

1. Get out the bags for the spelling pattern race
a. Each bag should have a word family, and connecting lines
2. Pair up the students for the activity as it is a race, each student should
have a bag
3. When you say go, students must first find the word family that they are
working with
a. ip, og, at, ar, etc.
b. This will be a different color than the other tiles in the bag
4. When they identify the word family, they can place their connecting
lines and begin to formulate words
5. The student that properly places their tiles the fastest is the winner
6. Make sure to switch up teams so that the students are working with
the entirety of the class
7. This is a time when it may NOT be beneficial to pair highs and lows
a. This might hurt the self-esteem of the lower students
b. Match based on similar ability instead

Additional Activity- Flip Books

1. Instruct students to grab a flip book of their choice
a. Choose one you haven't completed in awhile
2. After identifying the rhyme part of the word, have the student flip
through the book saying each word aloud
3. Have students continue through the book until the time is up or they
seem to understand fully that family
4. Go through as many flip books as you have time and work on the tricky
words together with the student to ensure their understanding
5. You can also talk about the definition of each word and how they relate
if time and ability allow

Additional Activity- Rhyming Bag

1. Instruct students to obtain a Rhyming Bag
a. Each bag contains a variety of items whose names math
2. The students begin by pulling out an item
3. Their task is to find the rhyming matches as they go through the bag
4. If they pull out an object that does not rhyme with that on the table,
they must put it back to pull out later
5. The timer ends when all of the matches have been found
6. Students try and improve their time each trial as well as their
understanding

Additional Activity- Eggcellent Rhymes

1. Assign students a set number of eggs that they must obtain

2. The student pulls the eggs out one at a time and must correctly
pronounce the words made on the egg by the rhyme and prefix
3. If the student pronounces each word correctly the first time, they must
open the egg and keep the paper inside
4. Students practice these until the set number is obtained

Phonics- Suffixes
Grade Level/Subject Area
3rd Grade
English Language Arts
Goals/Rationale
Apply grade level phonics to understand suffixes
Decode multi-syllable words
Decode words with common Latin suffixes
Standards
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.3.3
Materials/Preparation
Prepare Phonics anchor chart as shown below

Blow up the beach ball

Write suffixes around the beach ball

Objectives
I can understand and define suffixes
I can put words together using my knowledge of root words and
suffixes
Instructional Procedure
Introduction
o Introduce suffixes and give definition

Ask for examples to ensure that students understand

what a suffix is
o Make anchor chart with the class
Write the most common suffixes and ask students for the
meaning
Ask students what a good example and picture would be
for that suffix
Have students gather in a circle on the outside of the desks while you
get the beach ball
Explain the activity to students
o The students will be working with the suffixes that they just
learned about
o We will pass the beach ball around the room
You can throw it to anyone you would like but you MUST
call their name before you throw it
Once you have gotten the ball once, sit down in your seat
so everyone gets a chance
o When you catch the ball, the teacher will call out what they
expect you to do
Define
Example
Sentence
o After the whole class has gone, you can repeat it if time permits
or you can debrief about the activity
Closure
o What is a suffix?
o How do suffixes affect words?
o Can you add a suffix to any word?
o What is one thing you learned today?
Accommodations
For this activity, the expectations for students can vary. The teacher
can change her expectations for each of the student's answer. When
the ball gets thrown to a student, the teacher can call out definition for
the lower students and use the word in a sentence for the higher
students in the classroom.
Assessment
The assessment for this lesson of phonics will be verbal. The teacher
will make observations of the student's understanding based on their
answers and responses to the beach ball activity. This is a good way
for teachers to actively assess the students by changing what their
expectations are of the students.

Additional Activity- Cup Stacking

1. The student(s) should have a set of cups
a. The cups can be assorted or can be from the same word family
depending on the need of the student
2. Have the student take their cups and determine which is the root and
which are the possible suffixes

3. Record what the root word means and also what the suffixes mean
individually
4. Students record the words that the make as well as the definitions of
the words in their journal
5. This will help the students to better understand suffixes as well as
words as a whole

Additional Activity- I have... Who has...

This can be done with the whole class or as a go fish game with
students in pairs or working individually with the teacher.
For the whole group:
1. Each student takes a card and in their heads, decides the definition for
the word on their card
2. The teacher designates a student to go first and they read their card "I
have... Who has..."
3. The students then look at their cards and determine if the definition
read matches the word on their card
4. If it does match the student stands up and reads their card aloud
5. This continues around the room until everyone's cards have been read
and the game has circled back to the student who started
For individual/partner time:
1. Play a version of Go Fish with the student
2. Each player receives 5 cards
3. If they have any that go together right off the bat, they can lay them in
front of them
4. The player asks if the other person has a word that matches their
definition
a. They must state out loud the definition and the word that they
believe describes it
5. If the other player has that card, they must reciprocate but asking the
player if they have a word that matches their definition

6. Play continues until all of the words have been matched and it is
possible to put them in a circle on the table lining up definitions with
words matched

Additional Activity- Build-a-Word Towers

1. Get the container of cubes to build-a-word
2. There are cubes with prefixes, cubes with roots, and cubes with
suffixes
3. Allow the students freedom in this activity
4. Have the students identify which blocks have prefixes, which have
roots, and which have suffixes
5. When they have identified the different parts, have students write in
their journals three different words that they believe they can form
6. When they have written the three words, have them break each up
into a prefix, root, and suffix
7. The student should find the definition based on their knowledge of the
different part
8. After students have developed a definition, instruct them to look it up
in the dictionary and observe their definition as compared to the
dictionary

Additional Activity- Memory Game

1. Have the student grab a memory game bag
a. Each bag contains memory tiles
b. The tiles are a mixture of prefixes and suffixes with their
definitions
2. The students must lay out the tiles face down in some pattern of rows
and columns
3. Their task is to find as many matches as they possibly can
4. Much like normal memory, they flip over one tile and then a second
a. If they do not match, flip both back over
b. If they match, take them out and place them aside
5. Students may be on a timer to see how many matches they can get
6. Students may also be required to write the definitions of the matches
in their journals
7. Whichever outcome would benefit the student's needs the most needs
to be done

Vocabulary Development
Grade Level/Subject Area
3rd Grade
English Language Arts
Goals/Rationale
Use word parts to determine the meaning of words
Tune in to interesting words and use new vocabulary in speaking and
writing
Standards
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.3.3
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.3.4
Materials/Preparation
Prepare Worksheet

 Gather vocabulary words for the children to use in the square

Objectives
I can write a definition of a vocabulary word
I can put a vocabulary word in a sentence
I can find a synonym for a vocabulary word
I can draw a picture to represent my vocabulary word
Instructional Procedure
Introduction
o Model the lesson that the students will be completing on their
own
o Show the worksheet and explain the expectations of each
section
Worksheet time
o Students will select a vocabulary word either from their spelling
that week or from their independent reading book
o The worksheet needs to be done in the order of importance:
Definition
Sentence
Synonym
Picture
o Students need to make sure that they get the definition done
and then move onto the sentence and so on

If a student finishes early before the rest of the class, they can
go back and put the word in another sentence or write another
synonym for the word
Closure
o Go through and ask for examples of some of the words and
synonyms that the students came up with
o Talk about each synonym and sentence that the students come
up with
Accommodations
For the students who are lower in your classroom, you can have them
only fill out the definition and use the word in a sentence. Those that
are higher in your classroom can list more than one synonym and use
the word in more than one sentence. This assignment would also be
easy to work with a student to regain an understanding.
Assessment
The students will turn in their worksheets to serve as an informal
assessment for vocabulary. The worksheet is a great assessment to
serve a wide variety of concepts. The students will build off of easier
concepts to move into more difficult concepts such as synonyms and
pictures. It is easier to draw a picture of a word after you have put it in
a sentence and fully explored the word. This will give teachers a good
check for understanding on the vocabulary and ways to categorize and
describe a word.
o

Additional Activity- Prefix/Root/Suffix Sort

1. Have student get a separation plate and the bag of words
2. Time student to see how quickly he or she can correctly categorize the
words
3. Make sure to record the timing
4. When the timer starts, have the student empty out the bag onto the
table and begin placing the word parts where they belong
5. When the student believes the parts are all in the correct place on the
plate, go through the sections with the student discussing any
mistakes and definitions that the student cannot name
6. Encourage the student to move faster than the last time this activity
was done

Additional Activity- Boggle Board

These boggle boards could be used as a class competition for students.
The teacher could either create one large boggle board in the room for the
week or give each student an individual board. The problem I foresee with
individuals is the students not being able to keep them for a whole week.
If done as a group:
1. Create the boggle board on a bulletin in the classroom
2. Put up random letters but also assure that there are familiar sight
words for the students on the board
3. Explain to students how to play the game
4. The students will have until Friday (begin on Monday) to enter as many
words as they can
5. Each time they find a word on the board, they must write it on their
boggle slip
a. Each slip has the student's name printed on it
b. The slips then go in an envelope next to the board
6. Each week there will be a new winner formulated differently each time
a. One week it could be the one with the most entries
b. One could be the longest word
c. One could be randomly drawn
d. etc.

Additional Activity- Mystery Word

Much like boggle, this can be used for a whole class learning
opportunity.
1. Choose the word for the week
a. Use one that you have either had on a spelling test or in the
class book you are currently reading
2. Cover the word with paper or cloth and ensure that the students
cannot see the word for any reason
3. On four other small papers, write a synonym, antonym, definition, and
examples
4. Make sure that students understand the meaning of each word and for
the first few write out the definition for synonym and antonym
5. Allow students to guess the word throughout the week and to place
their guesses in the attached envelope
6. Make sure that students keep their answers confidential!
7. When all students have guessed, check for the correct answer
8. If there is more than one student with the correct answer put their
names into a hat and select a winner from there

Additional Activity- Character Sticky Notes

1. Have students select a book that they enjoy
a. This book can either be their IR book or a book they have read in
class
2. Focusing on the main character in the chosen story, have students
think about what make the character who they are
3. Fill out a sticky note for each piece of information
a. Pink- Physical Trait
b. Purple - Emotion
c. Yellow- Action
d. Green- Other
4. Students must verbally explain what makes each fact physical,
emotional, action, or other
a. In the case of other, explain why it is other and what that means